Question Mifold One

I’ve been searching for reputable reviews of the Mifold One and a comparison between it and the original Mifold Grab & Go and I cant find anything at my usual sources.

Can anyone point to a review on fit? Anyone compared them personally?

Looking for something to take on a trip. We’ll be flying, trying to take carry on bags only. Will need something to use in a 2-4 taxi rides.

She’s not heavy enough to take our Incognito and big enough overall either. And the Bubblebum still isn’t available in Canada from what I can see.

From what I've seen fit is the same with the same issues. It just doesn't fold.

Do you have the Turbo Grow up there? The RightGuide is a good alternative to the Incognito for kids not quite big enough...

ketchupqueen said:

From what I've seen fit is the same with the same issues. It just doesn't fold.

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Too bad.

ketchupqueen said:

Do you have the Turbo Grow up there? The RightGuide is a good alternative to the Incognito for kids not quite big enough...

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I don’t think so. I don’t see it on Grace Canada’s site. It looks super cool and I’ve actually got one of our high backs expiring in October so this would be a perfect replacement and perform double duty.

Although, I see the Right Guide has a minimum of 50# and I don’t think she’s there yet. I think she’s 48#. I guess I need to confirm. Not that it helps since I can’t get it anyway. [emoji1787]

I do see we have the Take Along backless and highback. Is that one any good?

Edit: holy crud...the TakeAlong BACKLESS is $80-$100 here. [emoji33]

Graco has great belt fits. They don't let something out of their factory unless it would get an IIHS best bet belt fit.

I bought a Mifold One to see how the belt fit would be. My daughter put it down backwards (because that's how it looks like it should be used) and it got a great fit that way. But the Mifold goes the other way, and it put the belt down her thighs. In addition, she found it instantly uncomfortable (it's hard and barely padded). My car doesn't have an issue with waterfall bights, but that can be an issue with a lot of cars. Especially if you're traveling and you don't know what car you're going to have.

The Cosco Top Side is in Canada, and it's lightweight and inexpensive ($25 CAD). Just read up on the belt routing, as it's not the common routing. The Harmony Youth Booster is also good for travel, and it's in Canada for $15 CAD.

Wendy

Oh here’s a thought, I’m pretty sure my Parkway is one that has the backless option. Might be worth testing the fit on that and if it works, take that with us? Is the backless Parkway known to work well in multiple vehicles? This is my seat that’s expiring in October so I’m not worried about travelling with part of it.

I can easily go out and grab a cheap backless but if I can use something I already have, I could use the money towards replacing her Parkway in October.

I also have an Oobr but I know that one isn’t always great backless and even backless, it’s kinda of a chunker to travel with.

The reason I was looking at something more packable is that we aren’t checking bags and will need our carry on and personal item each as the girls have a bunch of dance shoes and gear they need to take on board that we can’t risk losing by checking them as there is no quick way to get this stuff replaced.

The Turbo TakeAlong is great FTR but the high back version is a bit shorter than the regular Turbo- something to be aware of.

ketchupqueen said:

The Turbo TakeAlong is great FTR but the high back version is a bit shorter than the regular Turbo- something to be aware of.

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The high back is also $170 here and I wouldn’t even want to replace my Parkway with a regular Turbo highback let alone a $170 Turbo. [emoji1787]

I’ll have to either see if I can take our backless Parkway and if we can’t fit it, I’ll have to grab a Mifold as it seems everything else is just regular backless booster size.

Yes, but they provide a consistent belt fit. It's a great trade off.

Mifold pros: Teeny tiny. Foldable.
Mifold cons: My provide a really questionable belt fit and may not protect your child in some cars in a crash, leading to severe injury.

Top Side/Youth Booster pros: Inexpensive, lightweight, consistent belt fit in every car you'll be in, no worries in a crash since the belt fit is good, they're cheaper than the Mifold.
Top Side/Youth Booster cons: They're bigger than the Mifold.

The Top Side and Youth Booster are blow molded boosters and are much lighter than a Turbobooster. They weigh next to nothing. I have my nine year old carry hers. My biggest issue is not that she'll complain about the weight through the airports, but that she'll just forget and leave it behind.

Wendy

I'm going to be 100% honest, I would not put my child in a Mifold.

Nor I. The vast majority of belt fits I've seen haven't been good. When I'm using a belt positioning device for my child, I want the belt positioned well. If the belt is not positioned properly, my child is left open to injury.

Wendy

I don’t need a top side or a youth booster, neither provide me with any benefit because I don’t need something lighter, I need something much smaller. I have a backless Parkway and backless Oobr if I’m going to use a regular sized booster.

We’ll all have a personal item and a carry on bag which means our allotment is taken up and there is no room to carry a booster onto the plane unless the airline is nice and let’s a kid bring more than she is allowed onto the plane. We aren’t checking luggage for various reasons, one being that a huge chunk of what the kids need to take is impossible to replace in the time frame required if it should be lost.

They don't count as baggage. They count as personal equipment. Like crutches or an oxygen tank. Unless you get a cranky gate agent, no one will blink. You just carry it on like you own the plane, and put it under the seat in front or on top of your bag in the overhead.

Which is why a smaller booster is nicer, since it fits better in those spots.

Wendy

wendytthomas said:

They don't count as baggage. They count as personal equipment. Like crutches or an oxygen tank. Unless you get a cranky gate agent, no one will blink. You just carry it on like you own the plane, and put it under the seat in front or on top of your bag in the overhead.

Which is why a smaller booster is nicer, since it fits better in those spots.

Wendy

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The airline I am flying it says it allows car seats to be CHECKED in addition to your checked baggage allowance. But not that you can bring them on the plane in addition to your personal baggage. I am flying within Canada so it's not atypical to have to fly on those tiny Dash planes that fit a large purse under the seat and that's about it.

I looked up dimensions of the top side and the Parkway SGL in backless mode and they are about the same. The Parkway dimensions say it is actually narrower at the back. And maybe the SG clip could be a benefit with some belt fits so I could take the clip along in case. The Harmony dimensions I found don't seem to be much different either.

The SG clip on the Parkway would be great for a better belt fit. That'd be awesome. The Top Side and Harmony provide nearly universally great belt fits, and the blow molded boosters mean they're lighter than the Parkway, but that's fine if you want to take the Parkway. It means zero dollars spent for you. Much easier all around, and you know you're absolutely going to get a great belt fit. That's the number one most important thing.

I'd check my backpack and bring the booster to store on board. Nowadays, I just need my phone anyway. Or my kids need a drawing book and some coloring pencils. If it's that short of a flight on that we're on a Bombardier Dash 800, a sketchpad and new set of colored pencils or markers is fine. When we get to our connecting airport and we get the backpack back, then we can get to the rest of the goodies. But for that short of a trip, no biggie.

According to Transport Canada, you can bring on a child restraint. https://travel.gc.ca/air/carry-on-baggage This page also says they don't count toward your maximum. https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/carry-or-checked Now, of course, space is an issue on smaller aircraft. So maximum or not, we cannot produce more space. That's when I'd say no problem, send off my backpack for the hour long or 90 minute long flight, and then put the booster in its spot. They cannot make you keep the backpack and check the booster. It's just a matter of space limitations. And I have. Even on larger planes, I've had my daughter have her backpack and booster and that's it, so she doesn't take up a lot of cabin space. I put her booster on top of my suitcase in the overhead, or under her feet on top of her backpack, so we don't use her booster to take up precious in cabin space. It has every right to be there, but that doesn't mean I want to piss off the cabin crew or my fellow passengers.

Also, $10 worth of chocolates for the crew goes an amazingly long way toward good will and looking the other way if it's just a slight issue. My daughter's booster didn't *quite* fit on top of my suitcase. I tried, but it wasn't 100% on top of mine. It was going to need to share space on top of someone else's suitcase (which isn't an issue, but I try). I don't know if the flight attendant even knew of the chocolates yet. But I tried. My daughter and I sat down, the booster got sorted, I fell asleep. When I woke up my daughter had a hand written thank you note, a bag of snacks, and some extra drawing stuff. And believe me, no one mentioned the booster. When I traveled along (to a carseat manufacturer, ironically), for my $12 bag of chocolates, I was offered an upgrade to the exit row. So, try bringing a little bag of chocolates. It may put the crew in a good mood.

Bring a few extra for you and your kids as well. It may help you guys as well.

Wendy